by Tim McGarry, USA TODAY Sports

by Tim McGarry, USA TODAY Sports

You can add Mike Ditka to the list of people upset over the Bears' firing of Lovie Smith.

Smith was fired Monday after a 10-6 season. Former Bears head coach and Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka ripped the team's decision on ESPN 1000 in Chicago.

"I think Lovie is a very good coach," said Ditka. "Everybody is a little bit different in their manner. I think that's a 10-win season. They started 7-1. This team, there's a reason they lost some games in between. A lot of the wins they got in the 7-1 run were because of turnovers by the defense were turned into points. The offense didn't score enough points in those other games. That's the bottom line."

Ditka believes the decision came down to the Vikings' win over the Packers in the final week of the regular season. A win by Green Bay would have ensured a playoff berth for Chicago.

"If Minnesota would have lost last night and the Bears were in the playoffs this wouldn't have happened. That's a fact. So how stupid is it then? It really is stupid."

The Bears were 84-66 under Smith, but reached the playoffs just once since their Super Bowl appearance in February 2007.